Angela Merkel is most powerful woman for 2009

Mommy bloggers should be happy with this post. Forbes' Power Women list isn't about celebrity or popularity; it's about influence. In assembling the list, Forbes looked for women who run countries, big companies or influential nonprofits. Their rankings are a combination of two scores: visibility — by press mentions — and the size of the organization or country these women lead. Oprah and Michelle Obama don't top most powerful women list.

At No. 1, for the fourth consecutive year, is German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Up for reelection this September, she is leader of the world's fourth-largest economy. She faces a tough year: Germany's GDP is expected to shrink this year despite a small uptick in the second quarter.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair, who remains in the No. 2 spot, has presided over the orderly takeover of 77 banks so far this year. In fighting for more power for her agency, she has butted heads with Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and U.S.Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

Chief Executives Indra Nooyi of PepsiCo (No. 3), Cynthia Carroll of Anglo American (No. 4) and Irene Rosenfeld of Kraft Foods (No. 6) rank among the world's most powerful businesswomen and are tasked with steering their companies through unusually challenging times.

Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, Tamasek, has delivered extraordinary average annual returns of 18 percent under the leadership of Ho Ching (No. 5). She is currently seeking a successor.

Queen Rania of Jordan (No. 75), for instance, is perhaps the most listened-to woman in the Middle East; her Twitter feed has 600,000 followers.

Top 10 Powerful Women 2009
1. Angela Merkel
2. Sheila Bair
3. Indra Nooyi
4. Cynthia Carroll
5. Ho Ching
6. Irene Rosenfeld
7. Ellen Kullman
8. Angela Braly
9. Anne Lauvergeon
10. Lynn Elsenhans

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* In Pictures: The World's 100 Most Powerful Women
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